I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to purses, and pertains more particularly to an improved organizing purse having an improved arrangement of pockets and panels for holding various kinds of personal articles in an organized fashion.
II. The Background Art
People use purses to carry personal articles and effects. Some purses have a very simple construction. For example, some conventional purses consist merely of an outer shell that defines a single storage space compartment and a handle (e.g. shoulder straps).
Some purses, however, do have features that facilitate organization and more secure storage of the articles contained therein. Conventionally, these purses have different arrangements of pockets, compartments, closures and the like to segregate, and thereby organize, articles within the purse, and to better secure articles in the purse by providing multiple segregated spaces within the purse where various articles can be placed in separate groups.
Various small pots of make-up, wallets, small mirrors, combs, pocket knifes, coins, sewing kits, toiletries, credit cards, identification cards, papers bearing notes, writing instruments, check books, keys, combs, small food items (e.g., gum) and small books (e.g. paperback books) serve to illustrate the wide variety of articles that may be found in a purse. Although some purses have more than one compartment or pocket to help organize and secure these wide variety of items, a motley mixture of articles is still conventionally placed loosely in the purse or among a few compartments of the purse. This limits the level of organization and security of the articles, and may leave articles tangled, disorganized or difficult to locate within the purse.
The problem of organization was partly solved in my prior parent applications, which disclosed a purse organizer that solved many of the problems of the prior art. However, I have discovered the need for additional improvements. One improvement disclosed in my prior patent applications is the provision for converting the organizer to an appealing clutchxe2x80x94a small strapless handbagxe2x80x94or shoulder bag for convenient carrying of items separate from other personal articles. Another improvement disclosed in my prior patent applications is a modification to provide a zipper closure around the periphery of the purse organizer.
Now that the previous generations of improvements have been disclosed to the public, I know of no publicly-recognized problems, complaints, suggestions for improvement or the like relating to purses. To the extent that I have discovered shortcomings of currently-available purse products, such discoveries will be addressed below in the Summary of the Invention section, because such discoveries are not prior art, and are therefore inappropriate for discussion in this Background section.
There exists a need for a bag that can mount or hold many different related or unrelated personal articles in a more organized fashion. It would be desirable to have a purse organizer with multiple holding or mounting panels and pockets for holding many different related articles and/or unrelated articles for ease of location and retrieval. There is an ongoing need for a purse that can be quickly converted into a separate vanity bag or clutch.
Furthermore, there is a need for a purse organizer insert that can be selectively used in different kinds of bags, such as a purse organizer insert that can be transferred between purses of different materials or of different colors that can also be transferred to non-purse bags, such as backpacks.
One object of the present invention is to solve the problem of keeping personal articles of different sizes and shapes organized and secure. Another object of the present invention is to provide a purse organizer insert that can be selectively transferred between purse-style bags and various non-purse-style bags (eg, backpacks).
Broadly, the invention provides an organizing purse with multiple pockets and attachment means for holding articles of different sizes secure and readily accessible in an organized arrangement. At least some embodiments of purse organizer inserts according to the present invention can be carried in a purse, a non-purse-style bag (eg backpack), or carried alone as a clutch, or as a small shoulder bag.
More specifically, the following aspects of the present invention may be implemented as an organizing purse: an outer shell structured to define an interior space; an organizing insert detachably mounted to the outer shell at least substantially within the interior space, the organizing insert comprising: an insert front panel made of pliable material; an insert back panel made of pliable material; at least one insert intermediate panel made of pliable material, with the insert front panel, the insert back panel and the at least one insert intermediate panel being structured and located to define at least two organizing compartments; a first multi-card pocket assembly made of pliable material, with the first multi-card pocket assembly comprising a plurality of pockets shaped and sized to secure credit-card-sized objects; a second multi-card pocket assembly made of pliable material, with the first multi-card pocket assembly comprising a plurality of pockets shaped and sized to secure credit-card-sized objects, with the second multi-card pocket assembly being pivotable between a first position adjacent to the first multi-card pocket assembly and a second position spaced away from first multi-card pocket assembly; and a window panel with a window defined therein, with the window panel being connected to the outer shell at a location so that the window is aligned with and thereby exposes at least one of the first multi-card pocket assembly and the second multi-card pocket assembly. Another aspect of the present invention may be implemented as purse comprising: an outer shell made of pliable material, with the outer shell defining an interior space; at least one inner shell made of pliable material and located to define a main compartment within the interior space and to define a main compartment opening on the outer shell; and at least one elongated-object-holder shell made of pliable material and located to define an elongated-object-holder compartment shaped to hold elongated objects within the interior space and to define an elongated-object-holder opening on the outer shell.
Another aspect of the present invention may be implemented as a purse comprising: an outer shell made of pliable material, the outer shell defining an interior space; a generally planar rigid panel located within the interior space, with the rigid panel having an aperture defined therein; and at least one pocket made of pliable material, with the at least one pocket defining a pocket opening, and with the pocket being located so that the pocket opening is aligned with the aperture.
Another aspect of the present invention may be implemented as a combination of bags and an organizer insert comprising: an organizer insert; a first bag adapted to accommodate the organizer insert; and a second bag adapted to accommodate the organizer insert, with the first bag having a different size and shape than the second bag.
However, the claims alonexe2x80x94not the preceding summaryxe2x80x94define the invention.